Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari
Susan Abayomi
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde has left open the possibility of ending her tenure before the official expiration of her mandate in October 2027, while Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, says the Federal Government has made significant progress in boosting food production.
Lagarde, speaking to Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE on Friday, said she would leave the ECB in 2027 but gave an uncertain response when asked whether she would remain until October of that year.
“I leave in 2027,” she said, adding “we’ll see” when specifically asked about completing her term in October.
Lagarde also said that any eventual leadership transition would be handled professionally.
Her comments come amid growing speculation over a possible early departure from the ECB and discussions about potential successors. ECB staff have previously called for greater clarity over reports concerning possible leadership changes at the institution.
Meanwhile, Kyari has said the Tinubu administration has recorded considerable progress in food production, although challenges in processing and distribution continue to affect the prices paid by consumers.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS, the minister said reforms introduced since 2023 had contributed to lower prices at the farm-gate level, while gaps between production, processing and distribution remained a major challenge.
Kyari attributed Nigeria’s continued reliance on food imports to factors including rapid population growth, limited access to farmland, low agricultural productivity and high production costs.
He said the government was addressing some of these challenges through improved seeds, subsidised farm inputs, mechanisation and other agricultural interventions designed to increase productivity.
The minister also highlighted the government’s Special Agro-Processing Zones (SAPZ) initiative, which is intended to link agricultural production with aggregation, storage, processing and marketing.
According to Kyari, the initiative is expected to help strengthen local value addition and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported processed food.
He further disclosed that previously inaccessible farmlands in some areas affected by insecurity had been reopened, contributing to increased agricultural output in recent years.
Kyari said official figures for 2026 agricultural production would be released after the relevant harvest cycles, with the government expecting another strong performance.
The two developments highlight economic issues confronting policymakers in Europe and Nigeria, from monetary policy and leadership succession at the ECB to food production, agricultural productivity and supply-chain challenges in Africa’s largest economy.
